Atlas / Ontology Vocabulary

The ontology vocabulary gives semantic meaning to the raw UI graph stored in Atlas.

Where the graph model describes structure (states, transitions) and the core schema describes shape (fields, IDs), the ontology describes meaning:

• What kind of UI pattern a state or element represents.
• What role an element plays within its state.
• What intent a transition fulfills.

This allows consumers to ask questions like:

• “Which action in this state actually saves?”
• “Where are the primary actions?”
• “Which transitions are destructive?”

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Layers of Semantics

Atlas uses three main layers of semantics:

1. Patterns – UI-level patterns or components.
2. Roles – roles of individual elements within those patterns.
3. Intents – abstract actions the user is trying to perform.

These can be attached to:

• States (e.g., “this state is a modal dialog”).
• Elements (e.g., “this button is primary and destructive”).
• Transitions (e.g., “this action implements ExportToPDF”).

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1. Patterns

Patterns describe recurring UI structures. Examples:

• Modal – overlays or dialogs requiring explicit dismissal.
• SidePanel – sidebars with controls or navigation.
• Toolbar – horizontal or vertical bar containing actions.
• MenuBar – top-level menu strip.
• ContextMenu – right-click or long-press menu.
• ToastNotification – transient notification, usually non-blocking.
• WizardStep – step within a multi-step wizard.

Patterns can be used to annotate:

• States (e.g., “this state is a modal dialog”).
• Groups of elements (e.g., “these elements form a toolbar”).

Example (conceptual):

{
  "type": "state",
  "id": "state_export_dialog",
  "context_id": "ctx_example",
  "fingerprints": { "structure": "hash_export" },
  "interactive_elements": ["el_btn_ok", "el_btn_cancel"],
  "metadata": {
    "pattern": "Modal"
  }
}